Nonstop flight route between Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom and Spencer, Iowa, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between London Stansted Airport (STN), Essex (near London), England, United Kingdom and Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW), Spencer, Iowa, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 4,166 miles (or 6,704 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between London Stansted Airport and Spencer Municipal Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between London Stansted Airport and Spencer Municipal Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about London Stansted Airport (STN):

• The top international destinations served by Stansted airport are in Ireland, Italy, Poland and Spain.
• Long-haul scheduled services commenced in the early 1990s when American Airlines operated a transatlantic service between Stansted and Chicago, however the route was unprofitable and was withdrawn in 1993.Continental Airlines also operated services in the late 1990s from Newark, but this service was stopped shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
• The furthest airport from London Stansted Airport (STN) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is located 11,858 miles (19,084 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of London Stansted Airport's relatively low elevation of 348 feet, planes can take off or land at London Stansted Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation finally took control of Stansted in 1949 and the airport was then used as a base by several UK charter airlines.
• The closest airport to London Stansted Airport (STN) is MDPGA Wethersfield (WXF), which is located only 13 miles (21 kilometers) ENE of STN.
• In 2007 passenger numbers peaked at nearly 24 million, but then declined for 5 years and in 2012 the total was around 17.5 million.
• In 1984, the government approved a plan to develop Stansted in two phases, involving both airfield and terminal improvements that would increase the airport's capacity to 15 million passengers per year.
• London Stansted Airport (STN) currently has only 1 runway.
• The station was first allocated to the USAAF Eighth Air Force in August 1942 as a heavy bomber airfield.
• In 1988, over 1.1 million passengers passed through Stansted, the first time annual passenger numbers had exceeded 1 million at the airport.
• London Stansted Airport handled 17,852,393 passengers last year.
• Stansted is a base for a number of major European low-cost carriers, being the largest base for low-cost airline Ryanair with over 100 destinations served by the airline.
• Stansted Airport has one main passenger terminal, near the village of Stansted Mountfitchet.

Facts about Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW):

• Opened in March, 1942.
• Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) has 2 runways.
• The furthest airport from Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,691 miles (17,206 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• In addition to being known as "Spencer Municipal Airport", another name for SPW is "Northwest Iowa Regional AirportSpencer Army Airfield".
• The closest airport to Spencer Municipal Airport (SPW) is Jackson Municipal Airport (MJQ), which is located 35 miles (57 kilometers) NNE of SPW.
• Inactivated during 1944 with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.